


Selfishly Selfless

by NewLifeCrisis



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Brotherly Love, Gen, Post-Fourth Shinobi War, Uchiha Itachi Being a Good Brother, Uchiha Itachi Lives, Uchiha Sasuke Returns to Konoha
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-08
Updated: 2020-09-08
Packaged: 2021-03-06 20:40:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,408
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26355136
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NewLifeCrisis/pseuds/NewLifeCrisis
Summary: Itachi loves his brother no matter what. He just wished Sasuke could love himself even half as much.
Relationships: Uchiha Itachi & Uchiha Sasuke
Comments: 2
Kudos: 83





	Selfishly Selfless

**Author's Note:**

> Here I am jumping back into writing years later with a fandom seemingly out of left field. But actually, the first fanfic I ever read was for Naruto, so really here we are coming full circle. Tbh, I’m not as knowledgeable on all the lore of Naruto as I should be, so please forgive the vagueness.

Though Sasuke and all his friends (and frankly most of Konoha) insisted on painting him as a selfless martyr, Itachi thought of himself as truthfully quite selfish in his motivations. Sure, he helped prevent, or at least delay, another war, but Itachi could admit to himself that it was all just so he wouldn’t be responsible for his baby brother’s death. Maybe he could even spare him some pain and hardship by leaving him to grow up in a peaceful Konoha. Well, you know the saying about best-laid plans. 

So Itachi knew he could be selfish, but he had good intentions, which always seemed to circle back to his brother’s health and happiness. And with Sasuke having only one arm, despite continuing to take on dangerous missions, and a guilty conscience preventing him from healing said arm, he found himself decidedly unsuccessful in achieving either. That’s how he came to be in a heated discussion at dinner (not a fight, never again a fight) with Sasuke over getting the replacement arm. 

“I’ve told you before, I don’t need it!” Sasuke gritted out, stabbing the last cherry tomato in his salad as if it had personally offended him. 

Itachi sighed and, much more gently, transferred the two tomatoes from his salad to his brother’s plate. 

“I know Sasuke, but I’m more concerned about your philosophical reasons for not replacing your arm.”

The younger Uchiha chose to focus on consuming the gifted tomatoes rather than responding. 

Itachi sighed again, “It’s been over a year. The Hokage has pardoned you, the village has accepted you back, Naruto has forgiven you, though I’m sure he never even blamed you. Don’t you think you’ve atoned enough and proven your loyalty?”

Sasuke still chose not to reply, but the white-knuckled grip on his chopsticks and the intensity of his gaze on his miso soup showed he was listening. Thank goodness some of the damage to his eyes had been reversible with proper medical care. He needed all his senses to interpret his taciturn little brother. 

“Sasuke? Talk to me, please.”

His brother slammed his chopsticks down on the table and curled his one hand into a fist, yelling, “It’s not enough, Itachi! It will never be enough! I’m not-“ 

Sasuke exhaled sharply, his eyes slipping shut and voice dropping, “I still can’t trust myself not to make those mistakes again. I don’t know if I ever will trust myself, so it’s best just to stay like this, okay?”

_No, my little brother being plagued by self-doubt for the rest of his life? Definitely not okay_ , Itachi thought to himself. Time to try Manipulative Brother, Take 2. 

“Okay,” the elder Uchiha began diplomatically, “I understand you won’t take the replacement arm for yourself, but what about for me? What about when I have another relapse? How will you be able to help me with only one arm?”

Sasuke looked briefly horrified, eyes widened with panic. Then he shook his head and replied, “Don’t be so dramatic, Nii-san, we’ve managed just fine before, remember?”

Itachi did remember, and had already taken the facts into account. In truth, he had only had three relapse attacks of his illness in the past year. However, the first had been while he was still in the hospital, miraculously alive and recovering from his battle with Sasuke. The second and third relapses had been fairly mild and he only required his little brother’s help with simple tasks like fetching his herbal tea. It was also true that he had been feeling a bit rundown since the weather cooled with the coming of winter, which typically heralded another oncoming attack. With this precipitating bout of illness, Itachi intended, with a twinge of guilt, to play it up a little so Sasuke would realize the necessity of having two arms, thereby jumpstarting his path to healthy self-esteem. Seemed straightforward enough. In the same way Itachi knew he was selfish when it came to Sasuke, he also knew his brother to be just as selfishly selfless in the reciprocal. 

The elder brother sighed yet again as if in defeat, “Yes, I suppose you’re right, little brother. We’ll manage just fine.”

Sasuke nodded with finality and returned to his meal, though Itachi could see in the tenseness of his shoulders that he was still contemplating their discussion. 

As it turned out, there was no need for Itachi to exaggerate his illness because two days later, the tickle in his throat had morphed into a hacking, bloody cough and high fever. He could barely sleep for the pain in his chest, and was too weak to even sit up on his own. Despite this unfortunate development and lack of conscious effort on Itachi’s part, the plan was very much on track.

Sasuke had taken the week off from his duties and was working himself into a panic as the days went on. His brother wasn’t getting any better, and Sasuke just knew it was his fault. Although he could easily defeat an entire squad of skilled shinobi with just one arm, he found he couldn’t do something as simple as tie back his Nii-san’s hair as he hacked up bloody sputum. Or hold him steady while he coughed and rub his back simultaneously. Or prepare the syringe for an injection of his pain medication. It was the latter of those challenges that caused Itachi to nearly pass out during a particularly intense coughing fit, and caused Sasuke in turn to stammer out an apology while pointedly avoiding looking at his brother’s sickly pale face. 

“It’s alright, Otouto. I’m not really in that much pain anyway,” Itachi assured him, though they both knew it was a lie. He exhaled shallowly, “I’m sorry too, that you’re stuck here with your weakling of a big brother.”

“No, Nii-san, don’t...don’t say that. You’re still the strongest person I know. It’s me who’s too weak to take care of you.” The younger Uchiha’s voice wavered slightly and he still refused to raise his eyes from his lone hand clenched in his lap. 

“You were right Nii-san, just like you always are. I’m not good enough to help you with only one arm. I’m sorry.”

“Oh Sasuke,” Itachi implored softly. He reached out a shaky hand to rest on top of his brother’s fisted hand. 

This at least caused Sasuke to glance up and see the gentle smile on his older brother’s chapped lips. 

He brushed the younger’s bangs away from his eyes to hold his gaze. 

“I shouldn’t have tried to manipulate you like that, so I really am sorry. It’s alright Sasuke, just wait until _you_ feel ready, okay?” 

They sat in silence for a moment, enjoying each other’s closeness. 

“I-I know everyone is moving on from the past, and I really do want to overcome the regrets from mine,” Sasuke said haltingly, clutching his brother’s hand a bit too tightly.

Itachi nodded encouragingly, “That’s right, just because you choose to move past your mistakes doesn’t mean you forget the lessons. Having a new arm would be just as much of a reminder as the absence of one.”

“But Nii-san, what if-what if it makes me too powerful?”

Itachi chuckled at his brother’s perennial arrogance.

“I’m serious!” The younger Uchiha all but pouted. “If I make bad choices again...but this time even Naruto might not be able to stop me! You know what, I shouldn’t-“

He cut himself off as the familiar sensation of two fingers against his forehead interrupted his spiraling thoughts.

“Foolish little brother, it won’t come to that, but if it did, I would stop you,” Itachi stated simply. He poked his younger brother’s forehead once more for emphasis.

Sasuke stared silently for a moment. “Just like that?”

The elder brother gave a sagely nod, “Just like that.”

Suddenly he found himself with an armful of shaking little brother, instinctively holding him closer and rubbing his back soothingly. 

“Nii-san…”

Itachi nuzzled a kiss into his brother’s hair and waited for the shaking to stop before drawing back to look at him. “I know Sasuke. I can’t change the past, but I’m here with you now. I’ll always be here for you now. It’s a miracle, really, so why shouldn’t we hold onto it with both hands, right?” 

He thumbed away a few errant tears from the younger’s cheeks, offering a small smile.

“Nii-san.”

“Mm?”

“You’re so cheesy.”

Both brothers grinned. Yes, they would be fine. 


End file.
